Foreign Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka IndrajitCoomaraswamy and Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms Mano Tittawellashared information on Sri Lanka’s journey of peacebuilding with the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in New York.

The briefing focused on the comprehensive reforms required for sustaining peace and the prevention of recurrence of violence that is essential for establishing a reconciled, peaceful, and stable country.

NPC’s Executive Director, JehanPerera, was invited to present the civil society perspective of developments in Sri Lanka and made his contribution to the briefing through video conferencing.

In his comments Dr Perera referred to the challenges the government faced in taking the reconciliation process forward. He pointed out that those who spoke of Transitional Justice and holding those guilty of human rights violations accountable were being branded as traitors who were deserving of execution.

He also said that there was a major propaganda campaign by the opposition that Constitutional reform that devolved more power to the provinces was tantamount to the division of the country. In these circumstances, the work of civil society had to be redoubled, he stressed.

The UN Peacebuilding Commission is an intergovernmental advisory body that supports peace efforts in various ways in countries emerging from conflict, particularly during the transitional phase. The Commission brings together a range of actors to discuss possible solutions for a country and generates support and resources for peacebuilding processes. It also seeks to ensure continued focus on countries in a post conflict reconstruction phase with a view to preventing the recurrence of conflicts.